Congress pushes to amend Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act

The bill to amend the Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act is all set to be sent to a Parliamentary Standing Committee with Congress on Friday saying that Home Minister Amit Shah has assured Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge of the same after the latter pressed for further scrutiny of the proposed legislation.

Congress General Secretary (Communications) and Rajya Sabha Chief Whip Jairam Ramesh told reporters that Kharge, who is also Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, telephoned Shah, who is also in-charge of the Ministry of Co-operation, to put forward the Opposition demand on Friday morning.

Ramesh said Shah assured that the Bill, which has been introduced in Lok Sabha amid Opposition protest on Wednesday, will be sent to the Parliamentary Standing Committee for Home, which also looks into affairs of Ministry of Co-operation.

The party had made it clear after a meeting of Congress Parliamentary Strategy Group last Saturday that it would oppose this bill in its "present form".

On Wednesday when the Bill was introduced, Congress and other Opposition parties objected to the Bill alleging that it was an encroachment on the rights of states and demanded that it be referred to the Standing Committee.

Seeking to bring transparency and accountability in the co-operative sector, the Bill seeks to create a "Co-operative Election Authority" to bring electoral reforms in the sector and authorise the Centre to appoint one or more co-operative ombudsman. It also proposes a Co-operative Rehabilitation, Reconstruction and Development Fund for the revival of sick multi-state co-operative societies.

An amendment is also proposed in the existing law to increase the monetary penalties on multi-state co-operative societies for the contravention of norms.

Objecting to the Bill, Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has said that the cooperative sector is a state subject and there is "clear indication" that the Centre has been encroaching upon the territory of state governments.

This government has always called for cooperative federalism and it should have been followed before the preparation of this Bill, he said adding, "this bill may lead to the concentration of power of the Centre, which may impact the autonomy and functioning of the multi-state cooperative society and create potential for misuse."

Senior Congress MP Manish Tewari demanded the withdrawal of the Bill, claiming that some of its provisions "strike at the heart of the autonomy of cooperative societies".

Certain provisions in the Bill put an "additional burden on the cooperatives and infringe on the cardinal principle of autonomous functioning as provided in Article 43B of the Constitution", he added.